Cirque de Gavarnie: 6/03
B&Bの主人がどこに行くのが良いか相談に乗ってくれ、コートレやピック・デュ・ミディなどいくつかのオプションを抱えて街のインフォメーションに行ってみた。応対してくれたお兄さんは最初ガヴァルニー行きのバスは朝7時半と言うのでやはりタクシーを雇うしかないかと思ったが、上司と思しき女性と話してみるとその時刻表は古くて現在のは9時50分と判明した。帰りのバスは16時15分で完璧だ。元々タクシーに頼るしかないと思っていたのでこのバスの存在は大きかった。
そしてバスはインフォメーションの前に10分遅れでやって来た。地元のおばさんがひとり最前列に座っている以外客は僕だけだ。45分の山道を行くこのバス料金が僅か2ユーロと言うのには驚いた。ガヴァルニーのバス停もやはりインフォメーション前になっている。降り立つと素晴らしい景色が眼に入って一気にワクワクだ。ここから麓の残雪まで約1時間半のプロムネ(ハイク)開始だが、暫くは小川沿いの平坦な道を進む。雪解け水が冷たそうな色をしている。両側の新緑も心地良い。
40分ほど歩いたところから登りが始まる。それほどきつくはないし30分くらいで目的地に到着する。ここに来る人たちは至って身軽な出で立ちでしかも年配者が多い。みんな思い思いの場所で石を椅子がわりにして弁当を広げている。僕も昨夜と同じ食材で作っておいたバゲット・サンドを食べたが、実のところ一緒に持参したイチゴが一番美味しかった。歩き疲れには水分と甘さを一緒に補給できる果物に限るようだ。
The B&B host helped me in identifying places to visit and with some backup options such as Cauterets and Pic du Midi, I went to the information office in town. The young man who dealt with me said in the beginning that the bus for Gavarnie was at 7:30 in the morning and I thought I should hire a taxi in that case, but he spoke to his senior lady and came back saying actually the one he mentioned was outdated and according to the current time-table it was 9:50. Splendid and perfect as the returning bus was at 16:15!
This existence of transportation was a great bonus to me as I came here almost determinedly to hire a taxi.
In this morning, the bus came in front of the information center 10 minutes late. Except for an old lady sitting in the first raw seat, I was the only passenger, and the fare was only 2 Euros surprisingly for the 45 minutes' ride of winding mountain road. At Gavarnie also, the bus stopped in front of the information, and a magnificent view already greeted me there. It was said promener (hiking) to snows on the skirt of mountains was about 90 minutes which begins with a comfortably maintained flat road along the brook of snow-melted water and the fresh greens on the slopes both sides are pleasing. After about 40 minutes of walk, the road starts climbing but it wouldn't be too tough and it ends in about 30 minutes. People who visit here all dressed very light and the average age seemed rather high. They sit on stones and spread their lunch. I had a baguette sandwitch that I had made with roast beef, cheese and carrot as I had had for my previous night's meal. Frankly, a few strawberries I brought with were the best, and I thought the watery sweet fruits are the greatest thing to have after an exercise (if not a beer).
No comments:
Post a Comment